This invention relates to telephone and, more particularly, to a telecommunications wiring system for providing quick and reliable reconfiguration of telecommunications devices within a localized geographical area.
As business markets become increasingly global in character, competition has intensified. To nimbly and flexibly respond to rapidly changing market and company needs, businesses have found effective communication and personnel reallocation paramount. Movement of personnel correspondingly creates rapidly changing communication needs requiring reconfiguration of locations of telecommunications devices. In addition, by nature of simply having a great number of employees, government agencies and organizations also have substantial reconfiguration needs. Such reconfiguration often entails use and rearrangement of modular furniture.
Before divestiture, the local telephone company normally was responsible for all telecommunications devices and telephone lines on the customer premises. To change the locations of the telecommunications devices, businesses had no choice but to pay the local telephone company based on a rigid cost schedule. Thus, reconfiguration was an unavoidable cost, a fixed cost. However, since divestiture, individual telephone customers are now responsible for the maintenance of all telecommunications devices and telephone lines on their premises. Thus, instead of being a captive client to a local telephone company, businesses and government may now benefit from competitive market forces driving down the cost of reconfiguration of telecommunications devices.
Heretofore, businesses basically had only three means at their disposal to change the location of a telecommunications device within a localized geographical area. The first method involves physically placing a new telephone line from the punch-down block to the new location. This also involves removing the old line from the punch-down block and placing the new line on the punch-down block. This method requires no change in any cross-connect within the punch-down block. The second method occurs when a physical telephone line is present and unused between the punch-down block and the new location. In this situation, reconfiguration is accomplished by moving a cross-connect in the punch-down block. This second method involves additional administrative tasks in tracking and recording the new distribution pair assignment that has occurred as a result of moving the cross-connect in the punch-down block. The third method entails a combination of the first two. The third possibility, the most expensive, occurs when a new physical line is required to the new location, moving a cross-connect in the punch-down block is required, and administrative record changing is required.
All three methods have commonality in that they require the presence of a trained telecommunications technician. Since divestiture, this cost has fluctuated based on competitive market conditions. These methods require additional skills and present additional difficulties when relocation of telecommunications devices involves the use of modular furniture in which lines must be snaked, or run, through chases of the modular furniture panels.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a telecommunications wiring system of improved simplicity and flexibility, providing commercial advantages and convenience.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a telecommunications wiring system which allows even a technically unskilled person to reconfigure the telecommunications network by changing the location of a telecommunications device.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of such a telecommunications wiring system for allowing such an unskilled, untutored person to reconfigure the telecommunications network remarkably faster than the previous method of reconfiguration.
It is a further object of the invention is to provide a system which has relatively few different types of components which are simply and easily installed at a desired location providing sure connection and reliable operation.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a telecommunications wiring system which is especially advantageous for use with modular furniture panels to permit easy, rapid use and reconfiguration of the system when so used.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a series of piping assemblies for such a telecommunications system, which series comprises a backbone network allowing multiple appearances of the same distribution pair.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a system having an extractor to provide the path between the piping assembly and the telecommunications device through a permanently preselected distribution pair.
Among still other objects of the invention may be noted the provision of such a system and a method of providing easily relocatable and reconfigurable telecommunications local system connections between a local termination facility and each of a plurality of user telecommunications devices which offers the convenience and flexibility of fast, easy location and relocation of telecommunications devices within a localized geographical area.
Briefly, a telecommunications wiring system according to the present invention provides the capability of flexible configuration and reconfiguration, as for relocation of telecommunications devices within a localized geographical area.
The system provides a physical means from the punch-down block to the localized geographical area, the office area. A network of piping assemblies is attached to the physical means. Each piping assembly provides the capability of creating two distribution pair connections from one feeder pair. Thus, one piping assembly, the feeder assembly, may be connected to two other piping assemblies, the distribution assemblies; whereupon, the two distribution piping assemblies may each become feeder piping assemblies for continuation of the network. Included in this system at different locations are extractors. The extractors provide a permanently hard-wired continuation of a preselected signal path, accomplished by wiring only certain preselected pin positions in a connector. This connector of the extractor is located on one end of a means for cabling such as an inside wire (IW). The other end of the cabling means of the extractor is terminated by a suitable telecommunications device termination, such as an RJ11, or the like. Accordingly, when the change in the location of a particular telecommunications device is required, the extractor which is attached to the telecommunications device is simply unplugged from the piping assembly and replugged into a piping assembly at the new location. Because of multiple in the piping assembly network, the hard-wired, permanent path-selecting extractor immediately provides a telecommunications path to the repositioned telecommunications device on the same distribution pair as the previous location.
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinbelow.